Page 71 (1/2)

“Happy?”

“Well—”

“I don’t have tieant”

“Okay,” Bobbie said, and went back to her desk

Soren kept fidgeting like he had more to say, so Bobbie didn’t call the next person on her list She waited for hi had been adeal If she weren’t under soshe’d probably even notice When Soren finally spoke up, she’d apologize for being so pushy about it and then offer to buy hi, he stood up

“Soren, I—” Bobbie started, but Soren ignored her and unlocked a drawer on his desk He pulled out a small bit of black plastic Probably because she’d just heard hinized it as the iven hiuy, so she assu care of that little task, which would at least get him away from the office for a few minutes

Until he turned and headed for the elevators

Bobbie had done a little gofer work running things back and forth to data services and knew that their office was on the same floor and in the opposite direction of the elevators

“Huh”

She was tired She was half sick with guilt and she wasn’t even all that sure what she felt guilty about She disliked the man anyway The hunch that popped into her head was ale of the world

She got up, following hi and nodding at a page who hurried by She was over twoto blend

Soren climbed into an elevator Bobbie stopped outside the doors and waited Through the aluminum-and-cera all the way to the street level, then She hit the down button and took the next elevator to the bottoot there

A giant Martian wo would draw a little attention, so she scrapped that as a plan A wave of uncertainty, failure, and despair lapped at the shoreline of her et that there were no aret that, and look at the logic of the situation on the ground Think tactically Be smart

“I need to be smart,” she said A short woman in a red suit who had just come up and pressed the elevator call button overheard her and said, “What?”

“I need to be s off half-cocked” Not even when doing so insane and stupid